Restraint And Denial (An Arabic Love Story)

Chapter 6.

Chapter 6

*****

Earlier That Morning

One could begin with the sun that was still hiding under the shadow of dawn, the moisture in the air that settled on plants, or the light breeze that teased the trees to sway in a gentle motion, pleasing for the eyes to behold. Zaid took notice of all these tiny little miracles and was delighted in the heart just knowing how beautiful nature truly is.

He and his brothers, Khalid and Bashir were returning from the masjid where they had observed their Fajr prayer. They managed a light conversation as they strode into the front yard of the house. They had had a pleasant reunion the night before as they watched one of the most pleasurable games in the history of man being aired live. To the men, football was more than just a game; It was life, and their love for the game was as strong as the love affair between a mother and her child.

During the entire time, on their way from the mosque, Zaid reminisced on how their emotions were running high with tension building in their chest as they anticipated the unforeseen. At last, the game ended in their favor with their club slashing the other team with three goals to nothing. Words couldn't describe how victorious they felt. He wore a Chelsea jersey, an indication that he was still excited from the merriment from the previous night.

He looked up and caught a glimpse of the sun poking its head out of the clouds behind which it had been hiding. Upon noticing how the sun had come out of its hiding place with full force as though it was being chased by the moon, the brothers sought refuge under a tree somewhere in the compound. There was a bench there that sat under the shadow of a large tree in the front yard of the house. Zaid and his friends made their way to sit there while still laughing and making gesticulations as they spoke.

As they sat there talking, laughing, and sharing memories, one of the housemaids brought fruits and dessert to them. They each grabbed a fork and stabbed the fruits with it and began to eat. One of their friends from high school, Muhsin, had come to join them. Khalid immediately called out to the maid to bring a chair for him and ushered him to have a seat. Muhsin seemed to be excited about something intriguing which Zaid didn't fail to notice.

As they went on about the game with everyone giving stories of their favorite part of the match, Muhsin's phone rang up. With a huge grin plastered on his face, he had to excuse himself from the group to attend to the call. All attention went to him as he couldn't stop smiling sheepishly as he spoke to the person on the other end. When he returned to the group Zaid looked up at him, a small smile crept on his face. "I supposed you've caught a big fish." He joked, giving his friend a teasing smile. Muhsin laughed loudly, processing the meaning behind his friend's words. For a moment he wondered how he knew.

"Yeah" He grinned widely, casting a glance over his phone screen."She currently needs my attention because the wedding is due in two months and we need to sort out some things before then." Zaid snickered, feeling sorry for his friends; the young man was finally going to get settled and from Zaid's point of view, he looked worried, but then he seemed quite happy. Khalid and Bashir seemed left out of the conversation as they didn't follow and nobody bothered to fill them in.

"Wait a moment, how did you know?" Muhsin raised a slight brow as he leaned into his seat, he sat in a single armchair, while the others sat on a wooden bench.

"It was just a lucky guess," Zaid said casually, glancing over at the others who were still looking lost.

"What are you two talking about?" Khalid asked, still slightly confused and a moment of silence passed in which Muhsin wore a light smile, thinking about whether or not to share the good news with his friends. While the others were eager to hear what he had to say, Zaid already knew it without a single doubt in his heart. He didn't need a fortune teller to see through his friend's thoughts, for his mind was like an open book.